1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a circular knitting machine using sinkers and sinker cams, and a method for making patterned fabric by using a combination of sinkers and an actuator.
2. Description of the Related Art
A knitting machine can use a sinker, a transporting mechanism for transporting the sinker, and a sinker cam for making knitted fabric that can be a component of a garment. In addition, the related arts use methods of making various patterns on a cloth. Exemplars of the related arts include Hu (U.S. Pat. No. 5,511,393, Sinker System for Knitting Face-Loop and Reverse-Loop Fabrics as well as Face-Loop Jacquard and Reverse-Loop Jacquard Fabrics, Apr. 30, 1996) teaching a use of a master sinker, a face-loop sinker, a reverse-loop sinker, and a jacquard sinker. Different fabrics can be obtained by matching different types of sinkers. Stoppazzini (U.S. Pat. No. 4,571,955, Automatic Straight Knitting Machine, Feb. 25, 1986) teaches a blade element which is placed under a needle of a knitting machine. The blade element has three butts, a first butt at the top, a second butt below, and a third butt at the bottom. Ragoza et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,292,820, Method of and Apparatus for Knitting the Heel of a Hosiery Article, Oct. 6, 1981) discusses a circular knitting machine with a plurality of cams. From my study of these exemplars of the contemporary practice and of the prior art, I find that there is a need for an effective circular knitting machine that uses multiple stage sinkers per a type of sinker.